Iran is in talks to sell oil to Egypt, officials on both sides say, part of a broader push to make up for lost European Union sales and a renewed engagement between the two countries.
Iran
is in
talks to sell oil to
Egypt
,
officials on both sides say, part of a broader push to make up for lost
European Union sales and a renewed engagement between the two countries.
Tehran
has approached
Cairo
to
sell 2 million barrels--worth over $200 million--that are part of a stock of
Iranian crude stuck unsold in the Egyptian
port
of
Sidi
Kerir
because of international sanctions against
Tehran
, one
person familiar with the approach said recently.
An Iranian oil official said the two sides have held talks on the matter.
"Between
Iran
and
Egypt
,
there is some discussion. There is the idea they [will] import some oil from
Iran
,"
the official in
Tehran
said
recently. He declined to be named because the talks are confidential and no
deal has been finalized.
Egyptian Oil Minister Osama Kamal told the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper last
week that
Cairo
has
"no objection" to importing and refining Iranian oil. He spoke after
Egypt
's new
president, Mohammed Morsi, attended a summit of the nonaligned movement of
nations in
Tehran
last
month.
His visit was the first by an Egyptian leader in decades.
Tehran
cut ties with
Cairo
after
its Islamic revolution in 1979 because of
Egypt
's
peace accord with
Israel
.
Iran
has
not delivered any oil to
Egypt
in
the 33 years since.
Iranian leaders supported the 2011 uprising that brought Mr. Morsi, an
Islamist, to power.
Iran
badly
needs new oil buyers after a European Union oil embargo and
U.S.
pressure on its Asian clients more than halved its crude exports to 900,000
barrels a day.
The West has stepped up sanctions against
Iran
,
alleging new evidence that
Tehran
is
developing nuclear weapons.
Iran
says
its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes like generating electricity.
With just 709,000 barrels a day consumed each day according to BP PLC's
authoritative statistical report,
Egypt
is a
relatively small oil consumer, making it unable to replace
Tehran
's
lost oil sales on its own.
And it remains to be seen if it could ever agree to make a move as sensitive as
buying Iranian oil. "It's very preliminary. It has not been
finalized," the Iranian oil official said.
Such a move would surely anger
Washington
,
possibly imperiling
Egypt
's
ties with the U.S. Cairo is in talks to get $1 billion in debt relief from the
U.S.
,
which has spearheaded a global push to isolate
Iran
because
of the nuclear dispute.
Another element that could impede the oil talks with
Iran
is
the situation in
Syria
. The
new Egyptian president embarrassed
Tehran
recently by calling its Syrian ally an oppressive and illegitimate regime.
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